• by Wayne Friedman , July 15, 2008

Beverly Hills, Calif. -- Fox's big-time January season start will have some company this year, thanks to the disruption of last winter's writers' strike. In turn, Fox will give another network some company during next year's upfront presentations in May.

Speaking at the Television Critics Association meeting, Kevin Reilly, president of Fox Entertainment, said the writers' strike impacted the upcoming season. "It was obviously damaging--you haven't seen as much product as you normally would." That means more new shows for all networks in January.

Reilly also confirmed a report that Fox will shift its May upfront from its usual Thursday date to Mondays, starting next year. That's the day NBC had to itself. Reilly said this was to avoid media agency executives' fatigue at the end of a long week.

Fox--the No. 1 network among 18-49 viewers--will be increasing its efforts for this winter, with as many as eight possible pilots coming in December. A few more may join the net schedule later. "It's our high season," Reilly says of Fox's January start time. "I'm really glad we have '24' coming back."

On Reilly's future list for midseason and beyond are more comedies and animation, especially to bolster some of its aging Sunday shows, such as "The Simpsons" and "King of the Hill."

On the comedy front, Fox is pushing one project, "Boldly Going Nowhere," which is described as NBC's "The Office" in outer space.

"We want to rejuvenate our comedy brand," says Reilly. "We are going to really mix it up this year. We are not going to take most pitches [from writers/producers] in our offices. It could be in a restaurant. It could be in their house. We want to get out of the sterile environment."

For the fall, however, expect a lower-wattage affair for all networks, Reilly says--chiefly because the writers' strike has slowed down the development season of a year ago.

The biggest fall launch for Fox this season is executive producer J.J. Abrams' "Fringe," an "X-Files" meets Michael Crichton sci-fi. Abrams says the show's unique on-air campaign, which shows brief scenes and some visual clues, is all part of the mystery--the "code" of the show.

"Fringe" will get another push--from having more time to tell its story each week. Opposed to typical 43-minute or 44-minute dramas, "Fringe" will run 50 minutes, since Fox decided to cut back on its national advertising time. Typical national ad time runs 10 minutes in a given drama. Fox will run 5 minutes.

Given the slim pickings of new TV shows in the fall, Fox seems to have a somewhat wide-open field going into the fall season. "I don't think any one show can save the fall season," says Abrams. "But a great show is something we all want."